Officers:
Dr. Joyce M. Davis, President/ CEO
Joyce M. Davis is Opinion Editor for PennLive and has a distinguished career working for some of the most respected media organizations in the United States.
Based in Prague, Davis served several years as Associate Director of Broadcasting for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty supervising broadcast services to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia. She is widely traveled in the region and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kyrgyz International University in 2007.
Davis is also the recipient of three other honorary doctorate degrees from universities in the United States. A native of New Orleans, she has lived and worked around the globe, including in Athens and Paris, and has specialized in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.
Her experience includes several years as Middle East editor and special correspondent for National Public Radio, where she also served a Deputy Foreign Editor and Senior Foreign Editor. She was awarded two Columbia Du-Pont Silver Batons for her work covering the globe. She is author of two books on the Middle East, as well as numerous articles and broadcasts.
Davis has appeared on many national and international television networks as an expert in international affairs, and she is a highly sought speaker having spoken at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Army College at West Point, the National War College, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as well as the United Nations. She served as an advisor to the Georgetown University Journal of International Affairs and chair of the Speakers Forum of the National Press Club.
The U.S. Secretary of State’s Open Forum awarded her a Distinguished Service Award for her work advancing international understanding, and she is a former peace fellow with the United States Institute of Peace, where she wrote her first book, “Between Jihad and Salaam: Profiles in Islam.”
During her time in Washington, Davis served as Journalist in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs.
Davis currently hosts the award-winning weekly political podcast Battleground PA for PennLive, the major news organization in the capital of Pennsylvania. She writes regular commentaries and editorials for the online and print news organization, and hosts “Live On with Joyce Davis” on Facebook Live.
Davis lives in Harrisburg, PA with her husband, Rev. Russell W. Goodman and their son, Cole Davis Goodman.
Dr. Mehdi Noorbaksh, Vice President
Mehdi Noorbaksh is a professor of international affairs at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. He specializes in several areas, including international politics, global energy and health, and democratic movements and processes in Middle East politics. His most recent academic achievements include receiving his Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Health Administration (MHA) in 2006 from the University of Houston.
In 1996, Noorbaksh earned both his PhD in Government Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a position at Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies as a post-doctoral fellow.
Lindsay Bowman, Secretary
Lindsay Bowman teaches middle school history at Harrisburg Academy in Wormleysburg, PA,
and has been with the Academy since 2013. In addition to being a full-time teacher, she is also
the Coordinating Director for the Centers for Experiential Learning and Innovation, oversees the Center for Global and Local Citizenship, and coaches middle school girls’ soccer and basketball.
Eliz Nestorov, Treasurer
Eliz Nestorov is the Co-Founder/ CEO of the American-Bulgarian Chamber in America, Washington, DC. She is a Bulgarian-American prominent lobbyist, consultant and public figure in the State of Pennsylvania and its capital. She also manages AKAEVA Consulting, assisting nonprofit community-based organizations and social enterprises. In 2016, She became a Certified Grant Writer with the American Grant Writers Association.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Romeo Azondekon – Central Penn College
Ebony Caldwell — Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General
Dr. Ebony Caldwell is a transformative leader that has dedicated her career to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, organizational change, and strategic planning.
Dr. Caldwell joined the PA Office of Attorney General as the Diversity and Inclusion Officer in August 2018. She has over 15 years’ experience in DEI work as a college administrator, community advocate, and professional consultant. She serves on the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) and an Advisor to the Human Resources and Professional Development committee. She is also a member of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg Board and Governor Wolf’s Affinity Commission Black History Month Committee.
Dr. Caldwell holds a B.A. in Psychology, M.A. in Psychology, Ed.D. in Executive Leadership.
Ambassador John Craig – Ambassador-in-Residence, Elizabethtown College
Dr. Chris Dolan – Professor, Lebanon Valley College
Kalpana Doppalapudi – Founder, PowerWoman, Inc.
Dr. Oralia Garcia Dominic – Penn State Hershey Medical School
Rev. Nathaniel Gadsden – United Way of the Capital Region (retired)
Pat Gadsden – President, Life Esteem, Inc.
Link Martin – Temple University Harrisburg
Sait Onal – TransAmerica Insurance
Uday Shrikantia – International Business & Marketing Consultant
Dr. Shirley Warsaw — Professor, Gettysburg College
Dr. Kay White — Director, Governor’s Schools (Retired)
Board Members Emeriti:
Dr. Gaylen Bradley – Retired, Hershey Medical School
Harry Witte – Attorney